Video: BLACWATER feat. Young Nations & Lasro: "Rebel Come Down"

Silence DemAll and Draztic

Oakland/San Jose emcee Silence DemAll (of The Swap Meet Ensemble) has kept his BLACWATER project on hush mode for a minute, but with “Rebel Come Down” we get our first glimpse at an unprecedented musical alliance. BLACWATER is comprised of Silence and South African producer Draztik, and they are working on the first ever album to be created by an American emcee and African producer.

The two got turned onto each other’s work online, but when a 2008 trip brought Silence to South Africa to work with disadvantaged youth, the idea for BLACWATER came to fruition. It is a partnership first, but the project is also being used as a vehicle to bridge the two continents by featuring artists from their respective regions.

The song “Rebel Come Down” epitomizes this idea, matching Silence with South African hip-hop heavyweight, Young Nations and Bay Area based (Guyana born) singer/ragga artist, Lasro. The result is a blend of hip-hop with a flare of roots reggae.

One time for my people caught in the grind

But won’t let the 9 to 5 define them, got it in mind

to raise out cha situation from ya block or behind
from the valley of the lost where the dead walkin blind

-Silence DemAll

The lyrics speak to the struggles of the common (wo)man trying to make due in hard times. Hard times of course are relative when you are speaking of struggle in the Bay Area versus that in Johannesburg. Nonetheless, some struggles span the globe. Silence’s rhyme, “We need education for the kids so they can emerge / from the bowels of the beast and our nemeses shall burn,” makes sense in Oakland and against the backdrop of post-apartheid Johannesburg. This rebellious anthem would even translate in large part to the struggles of the people of Egypt, Bahrain or Libya.

Freedom music is universal and the Bay Area has historically been recognized as a hot bed of activism. Hopefully BLACWATER and Goapele’s forthcoming African Diaspora mixtape will help remind us of our connection to the world and reinvigorate our dormant rebellious spirit.